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Does A.J. Allmendinger's road to the Indy 500 run through his Sebring test?

February 18, 2013

1 of 5A.J. Allmendinger, who drove in NASCAR for team owner Roger Penske last season, was in a Team Penkse IndyCar ride on Tuesday.

Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

2 of 5A.J. Allmendinger, left, and Helio Castroneves laugh it up at Sebring on Tuesday.

Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

3 of 5A.J. Allmendinger climbs into his office on Tuesday for an IndyCar test at Sebring, Fla.

Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

4 of 5A.J. Allmendinger, left, and Helio Castroneves in the Team Penske pit at Sebring, Fla., on Tuesday.

Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

5 of 5A.J. Allmendinger and the Team Penske crew get ready for takeoff at Sebring.

Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

The only thing shining brighter than the sun at mid-day on Tuesday at the IndyCar test in Sebring, Fla., was A.J. Allmendinger's smile.

Back in an Indy car for the first time since he raced in Australia in 2006, the 31-year old driver was excited to get a second chance to drive for Roger Penske after his suspension for failing a random NASCAR drug test last year. Allmendinger has since completed NASCAR's Road to Recovery program and has raced five times in a Sprint Cup car since then.

Penske never stopped speaking with Allmendinger during the recovery period, and the test day at Sebring was the result of Allmendinger's continuing relationship with the Captain.

While getting up to speed is important, there is a bigger picture for Allmendinger to think about -- restoring his career

“I'm focused on making sure I'm hitting my marks today and don't do anything dumb,” he told reporters after the morning session.

Noting the differences between the defunct Champ Car, NASCAR, and today's IndyCar Series, he added, “This has less horsepower than when I ran Champ Car but it feels like its got 1500 hp so I'm hanging on.”

He complimented regular Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and Will Power on being so inviting to the new kid on the team. Allmendinger and Power do have a little history, as they raced against each other in Champ Car while Castroneves was racing with Team Penske in the Indy Racing League.

Their relationship was so good that Power came over, eavesdropping on the interview, to interject, jokingly, “I used to kick your ass.” Not missing a beat, A.J. responded that wasn't the case.

“I have the stats to prove it," Allmendinger said.

A.J. was right. He had five wins in 2006, while Power had just two wins in 2007. So much for bragging rights for their their Champ Car careers.

Reading between lines, the result of Allmendinger's test at Sebring is likely to be an entry in the Indy 500.

Of course the driver was circumspect, instead referring reporters to Penske Racing president Tim Cindric.

"This thing came together pretty late,” Cindric said. "We never really talked to any driver. Once we started looking at Indy, and [the probability] of running a third car at Indy, Roger and I were talking about the available drivers right now. And we both came to a conclusion that A.J. would be a great guy to put back in an Indy car. It came down to…him. That is, (if it's) something he really wants to do. If it's a matter of passing time or filling a gap, it's the wrong situation.”

Cindric added that while the team is not quite ready for a full-out season with a third car, they are prepared for a partial season and could ramp back up to three cars if the sponsorship situation makes it practical.

Still, there's the strongest possibility of a third car for the Indy 500

While there is no oval race on the IndyCar schedule before Indianapolis, Cindric laid out a scenario where Allmendinger, as a rookie, could go through the Indy 500's Rookie Orientation Program in April. Then Cindric added, “I would hope we would be able to [test] at Texas before we go to Indy with him.”